Notebook

Guys like Brian Gay are supposed to be obsolete on thechicks-dig-the-long-ball PGA Tour. In a world of home runhitters, Gay pops singles to the opposite field. Yet if the Tourgave an award for most improved player, Gay, a soft-spokenAlabamian, would win hands down.

It has gone largely unnoticed, but Gay, a seven-year pro in histhird season on the big Tour, is 39th on the money list ($1.2million). He is known mostly as the poor guy who waited threeseconds too long for a hanging birdie putt to fall (10 seconds isthe limit) on the 71st hole of last year's Honda Classic. Gay wasassessed a one-stroke penalty, bogeyed the final hole and came infourth--instead of tied for second--at the time the best finish ofhis career. He bounced back from that disappointment to go from102nd in earnings at the end of the 2000 season to one good weekfrom the top 30 and a spot in the Nov. 1-4 Tour Championship.

How has he done this while ranking 190th (266 yards) on Tour indriving distance? Like Tom Kite a generation ago, the 5'10",155-pound Gay seldom misses a fairway (75%, 14th best on Tour) ora green (67%, 76th) and is deadly from 100 yards in (fifth inputting). Also like Kite, he's emerging as a top pro a littlelater than his peers. (Gay will turn 30 on Dec. 14.)

A two-time All-America at Florida, in 1992 and '93, Gay ledGators teams that won four SEC titles and an NCAA championship,while he won the SEC individual crown twice. "In terms ofchampionships, his record at Florida is as good as anybody whohas played here," says Gators coach Buddy Alexander. "Brian is avery underrated player. He's an unassuming guy with an unassuminggame. His golf IQ is extremely high, and his short game wasalways Tour caliber."

Gay succeeds with consistency. Since the Genuity Championship inMarch he has made the cut in 19 of 22 starts and has had four top10 finishes. He's also plays well on Sunday. A final-round 65lifted him to second, behind Sergio Garcia, at the Colonial, andhe closed with a 69 to come in fifth in New Orleans and with a 65to end up sixth at the Buick Open.

Short is a relative term on Tour. Gay's normal drive is only 13yards--about one club--below the Tour average but as many as 40yards shorter than the long guys hit the ball. "I'd like todrive farther," Gay says. "So many weeks it seems as if I can'twin even if I play really well because of the way courses areset up."

Says fellow pro Paul Goydos, "If you're 190th in drivingdistance, you've got to be a good putter, a pretty good middle-and long-iron player, and smart to compete. Brian is like LorenRoberts. Everybody talks about Loren's putting, but he's fabulouswith his middle and long irons. Brian has brains. He knows whathe's doing, and he's improving every year."

Although Gay enjoys his time at home in Orlando with his wife,Kimberly, and their two-year-old daughter, Makinley, he intendsto play the final four tournaments of the season in an effort tocrack the top 30. It won't be the end of the world if he doesn't."It has been a successful year regardless of how I finish," hesays. "There's been pressure, but it's been fun."

Charity Fund-raiserPine Valley Goes Public

Pine Valley has been the top-ranked course in the U.S. for 16years, but since the club's opening in 1922, only its members,who these days number about 1,200, and their guests have had thechance to play the George Crump-designed course and enjoy a bowlof the club's renowned turtle soup. That will change onsuccessive Mondays, Oct. 15 and 22, when the exclusive men'sclub in Clementon, N.J., will be open to the public for thefirst time.

On Sept. 25, Pine Valley announced that to raise money for theTwin Towers Fund of New York City, which benefits the families ofthe firemen, policemen and other uniformed personnel who died inthe Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center, the club wouldallow 140 golfers to play the course on Oct. 15 for a greens feeof $1,000 each, with the proceeds going to the fund.

The club was overwhelmed with almost 2,000 requests from aroundthe world, and less than 24 hours later all the spots werefilled. When Pine Valley member Barney Adams found out the newson the following day, he immediately speed-dialed the main numberfor an hour. "It was like trying to get front-row tickets to theEagles. I wanted to participate, but I couldn't get through,"Adams said from his house in Dallas. "I heard one of the membersdrove to the course and wrote a check for $5,000 and then toldthe club to give his spots to someone else."

Because of the heavy response, Pine Valley added the second day,permitting 124 more golfers to play a round. "I've been a memberat Pine Valley for 20 years, and I've never been more proud tobe a member there than I am now," said Adams, founder of AdamsGolf. "You talk about a bastion of guys in funny clothes andpoke fun at the exclusiveness of the club, but in a difficulttime this first-class organization has come through to do afirst-class job."

EquipmentC-Thru Grip a Clear Winner

The future of golf grips is clear, and saying so is not atransparent attempt to hype the most unusual equipment innovationof the year: the C-Thru grip (c-thruputters.com). Manufactured byPercise Golf in Pomona, Calif., and distributed by Mickey Novak,a veteran clubmaker based at the David Leadbetter Academy inOrlando, the C-Thru is made of Vulcathane rubber and istransparent.

Available only in putter grips, the C-Thru is soft, tacky andwater repellent. Almost as important to marketers, a logo put onthe butt end of a shaft is visible through the grip. The grip isalready being seen on Tour. Charles Howell used one at theGreater Milwaukee Open, in which he finished second. John Cookplayed with a C-Thru over the logo of his alma mater, OhioState, when he won the Reno-Tahoe Open last month. Mike Hulbertopted for the Stars and Stripes at the Texas Open. "As long as Ikeep one-putting, I'm leaving it on," Hulbert says. SemiretiredTour player Brad Bryant, who's helping Novak by promoting thegrip among his peers, used C-Thrus tinted with various colorsand emblazoned with his nickname, Dr. Dirt, on his irons at theB.C. Open in July. "I got a lot of comments," Bryant says."Everybody thought they were cool."

Novak says he's adding two putter-grip designs and hopes to comeout with Tour-caliber grips for irons and woods. "The first oneswere good for amateurs who don't swing too hard," he says, "butthe grips were a little too spongy for better players."

COLOR PHOTO: DARREN CARROLL Gay, whose deft short game makes up for a lack of length, hopes to qualify for the Tour Championship.COLOR PHOTO: L.C. LAMBRECHT Pine Valley allows women only on Sundays after 3 p.m.

VAN'S TOP 10 All-Men's Clubs

When women's groups, the American Civil Liberties Union and themedia came down hard on Southern Dunes Golf Club, a private,Fred Couples-designed course near Phoenix, for permitting onlymen on its fairways, I wondered: How come no one complains aboutall the other clubs (a few phone calls turned up more than 20 inthe U.S.) where women are not welcome? Here are my top 10men-only clubs, ranked by their level of male chauvinism.

1. Burning Tree Bethesda, Md.Opened in 1922 and only 10 miles from the White House, the clubwas a favorite of presidents Nixon, Ford and Bush Sr. BurningTree has never had a woman guest player, not even AssociateJustice Sandra Day O'Connor, who's a pretty good golfer. Womenare allowed on the grounds once a year--to buy Christmas giftsin the pro shop.

2. Bob O'Link Highland Park, Ill.Wives may drop off their husbands but aren't permitted to getout of the car. There's no dress code at the Bob, where membershave been known to play in only their shorts and shoes.

3. Preston Trail DallasThe club doesn't take phone calls from women and has twounwritten rules (created specifically to restrain member MickeyMantle): No driving a cart inside the leather and no nude dining.

4. Pine Valley Clementon, N.J.When Jack Nicklaus played here on his honeymoon, his bride,Barbara, had to drive around the perimeter of the property tocatch a glimpse of him. Pine Valley has made some strides. Itnow permits women to play--on Sundays after 3 p.m.

5. Lochinvar HoustonWhen a camera crew from CNNSI tried to interview Butch Harmon,the pro at the time, a female producer was stopped at the frontgate and then escorted to a rear entrance. Tiger Woods wore ashirt bearing the Lochinvar logo when he won the 1996 U.S.Amateur.

6. Garden City Garden City, N.Y.The venue for the 1902 U.S. Open and many early U.S. Amateurs,Garden City permits women on the back patio for receptions andon the course to view tournaments, but doesn't allow them to gettoo comfortable. There is only one ladies' room, and it's in thepro shop.

7. Sharon Sharon, OhioThe club was used for U.S. Open sectional qualifying until theUSGA got religion in the wake of the Shoal Creek scandal of1990. Jerry O'Neil, a former member who wrote a $1.6 millioncheck (it's framed and hanging in the clubhouse) to build theclub, ruled Sharon for years and is said to have rejectedemergency medical equipment on the premises by saying, "Not aslong as we have a waiting list."

8. Wolf Creek Olathe, Kans.No women allowed, though they can drop off their spouses in theparking lot. Nevertheless, Tour players Woody Austin, MattGogel, Tom Pernice and Tom Watson are regulars, as was baseballHall of Famer George Brett.

10. Gator Creek Sarasota, Fla.Once known for big-money games and shirtless guys who parkedtheir carts at the edge of the greens, the club is beginning toattract a more discerning clientele, which explains why a memberwas recently suspended for relieving himself off the porch ofthe clubhouse.

Trust Me

Freezing the Ryder Cup rosters so that the players who qualifiedfor the 2001 team will play in 2002 is a mistake. What happensif Texas Open winner Justin Leonard--or anyone else not alreadyon either of the teams--reels off four or five victories beforenext September? It won't only be silly but also unfair to leavethat player home.

ThreesomesWhat do these players have in common?

--Justin Leonard--Bill Melhorn--Arnold Palmer

They're the only golfers to win two or more consecutive TexasOpens. Leonard prevailed in 2000 and '01, Melhorn in 1928 and'29, and Palmer in '60, '61 and '62.

FeedbackWhich weighed most heavily in the Ryder Cup postponement: thelogistical difficulties of international travel, as the PGAclaims, or Tiger Woods's avowed fear of flying abroad?

Logistics 34%Woods's fear 66%

--Based on 1,780 responses to our informal survey

Next question: Do you agree or disagree with the decision tofreeze the Ryder Cup rosters? Vote at golfplus.cnnsi.com.

ThesaurusSYNONYMS for a GOLF WRITER

Animal, chop, hack, greenfly, media scum, noise, talking dog,vulture

NumbersWith four events to go, the race for Senior tour player of theyear is the tightest since the tour's inception in 1983. Hereare the contenders.